Sunday, 31 August 2014

As I push ever farther into the world of cycling I have
learned lots of fascinating things.I
have been thinking of getting a new bike, but with winter approaching (add as
many Game of Thrones quotes as you want here) I am wondering if I should wait.As a result of this indecision, I have been
doing a lot of research.

ØThere are a huge number of bike shops in my
area, and along my commute path, and near my work.I had no idea cycling was so popular.When I was young, only children rode
bikes.The upside of this is lots of
places to shop.The downside is that
even places which sold reasonable bikes now have some higher end bikes, and
prices seem quite high.I mean, I have
seen bikes which cost as much as my car did when I bought it new.

ØThere are a lot of magazines devoted to the
hobby/pursuit.I have counted about 10,
and I am sure there are more.That's
incredible.Whoever said the printing
medium was done was obviously wrong.Despite the complaints of these magazines just being glossy catalogues
that push expensive and unnecessary products on the gullible, there is some
decent writing between the pages.

ØThere is a crapload of extras for the cycling
crowd.Is all of it necessary?Of course not.Is some of it vanity driven?Absolutely.Does it affect me..... sadly, I
have to answer yes.

ØI like riding a bike much more than going to a
gym.Seems pretty obvious, but that is
what fuels the decision to buy a nice bike.Living in a climate which produces bone chilling cold and snow for a
large part of the year doesn't help.

Summing it all up.I
am definitely interested in this hobby.Where I take it from here, only time will tell.

Sunday, 17 August 2014

Is television finished?Of course it isn't, but are we in the midst of its decline?

I was out riding my bike around today, trying to decided if
I should buy a new TV.I found a couple
that I am interested in, and if I bought them today, I wouldn't have to pay
tax.I couldn't decide if I should spend
900 bucks on a new TV and sound equipment, or if I should save the money for
the cool bike that I want to buy.(feel
free to comment--but I have about 1 hour to make this decision).

While riding I stopped to talk to a woman who was also
riding, but taking a rest.She mentioned
that she loved watching Netflix on her laptop, and was planning on throwing out
her TV.I didn't ask her if she would
give it to me, but not that I think about it, maybe I should have.

The point being, I know a lot of people would rather pay a
small fee and their internet provider rather than traditional cable.If they had sports on Netflix, I am sure a
lot of us would do the same.If they
make more TV series for Netflix only, would more people rather watch them?I don't have the answers to these
questions--and I am still wrestling with the TV debate, but I guess only time
will tell.Maybe this is the beginning
of the end of television as we know it.

Saturday, 2 August 2014

Okay, I succumbed to tool lust.I bought the bike repair stand.I admit it.And yes, I have been to several bike shops.I probably don't need the big box of tools,
because I have lots of other ones.

The good news is that I have so far resisted the urge to buy
a new bike.I used the bike stand to
tune up my neglected bike.So, I feel
pretty good.

I even took the bike out today.I realized three things.

I, in
fact, do love riding.It felt great
to get the bike moving at a good speed.

My
cardio is terrible.Despite losing
some weight, I really need to up my cardiovascular training.Fortunately, that was the reason for
getting on the bike again in the first place.Why go to the gym and get on an exercise
bike when I can bike on an actual road.

When
you fall, or crash, it still hurts.Yes, in my first bike ride in a couple of years, I had minor
accident.I was cutting through a
catwalk that, rather than paved, consisted of rectangular concrete
sidewalk patio stones (or something like that).They had spread apart in the centre,
leaving a gap just big enough for my front tire to find.Escaping it resulted in a collision with
a chain link fence, some scrapes, and a probable bruise.

On the plus side, I was rewarded with an encouraging
number on the scale as well.

About Me

What do you do if your life is bursting with hobbies. What do you do if you really can't concentrate on one thing for any real length of time. What do you do if you can't afford therapy for this sort of thing. I guess you write a blog about it.